These infernal Scowrers, this cursed
vindictive nest of criminals--"
"No, no, my good sir," said Holmes. "There is a master hand
here. It is no case of sawed-off shotguns and clumsy
six-shooters. You can tell an old master by the sweep of his
brush. I can tell a Moriarty when I see one. This crime is from
London, not from America."
"But for what motive?"
"Because it is done by a man who cannot afford to fail, one whose
whole unique position depends upon the fact that all he does must
succeed. A great brain and a huge organization have been turned
to the extinction of one man. It is crushing the nut with the
triphammer--an absurd extravagance of energy--but the nut is very
effectually crushed all the same."
"How came this man to have anything to do with it?"
"I can only say that the first word that ever came to us of the
business was from one of his lieutenants. These Americans were
well advised. Having an English job to do, they took into
partnership, as any foreign criminal could do, this great
consultant in crime. From that moment their man was doomed. At
first he would content himself by using his machinery in order to
find their victim.
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